American Studies

itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

2/02, 2/16, 3/02, 03/16/23

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME

Case No. 23LBCP00010

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

Petition of: JULIE ANNE DUENAS

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:

Petitioner JULIE ANNE DUENAS filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

JULIE ANNE DUENAS to JULIE ANNE SOLA-DUENAS

The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

Notice of Hearing:

Date: 02-24-23, Time: 8:30 am, Dept.: 27

The address of the court is 275 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach, Ca 90802

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Daily Journal and RLn.

Date January 13, 2023

David W. Slayton Judge of the Superior Court 1/19, 1/26, 2/2, 2/16/23

Black experience, and antiBlack racism specifically,” he told Random Lengths. “Also, I think this latter content is particularly important in our present context.”

In fact, removing that content has a sinister impact, as he noted in an LA Times op-ed titled “Watering down AP African American studies preserves the myth that racism exists solely in the past.” In it, he noted, “This pernicious framing is used by conservative ideologies that cast present-day Black inequality as the fault of Black inadequacy, and to buttress theories of white supremacy.” This is colorblind racism in a nutshell.

The changes are not as simple or clear-cut as Haynie’s description might suggest. The course’s four units are all thematically unified and chronologically structured — so even the “contemporary” topics that were removed were historically situated. After all, reparations are as old as the post-Civil War promise of “forty acres and a mule,” prison abolition is a response to abusive practices rooted in the 13th Amendment, and Black Lives Matter seeks to end practices rooted in prerevolutionary slave patrols. Similar connections can be made with virtually every topic that’s been marginalized — or, in the case of colorblind racism, entirely removed.

Originally, the third unit, “The Practice of Freedom” from Reconstruction through the Harlem Renaissance, was the second-shortest with 20 topics, compared to 32 topics (the most) in the fourth unit, “Movements and Debates” from early 20th Century anticolonial movements through the present. Now both are the same size — 19 topics covered in 26 class periods. The third unit is 30% longer, the fourth is almost 20% shorter.

A Closer Look

Getting more in the weeds, the troubling changes come into focus. We can see this by comparing three weekly themes from February 2022 with the analogous themes in the final framework.

The weekly theme, “The Black Feminist Movement, Womanism, and Intersectionality,” with four fully-articulated topics has become “Black Women’s Voices in Society and Leadership” with just two topics in three classes. “Intersectionality and Activism” is gone of course, but the entire subject is substantially reduced.

The weekly focus “Black Power, Black Arts, Black Pride, and the Birth of Black Studies” is pared down to “Black Power and Black Pride,” with Black Arts and Black Pride combined into one class, while “the birth of the field of Black studies from student-led protest and the political and cultural movements of the late 1960s and 1970s” completely disappears — a truly bizarre omission. The deep connection between Black activism and Black studies is foundational to any honest understanding of the field.

A more complex, but instructive example is found in the theme “Diversity Within Black Communities,” where the new content is strikingly more upscale and less critical. Completely gone is the topic of ‘Postracial’ Racism and Colorblindness (which flies in the face of Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act”), while two classes on “The Growth of the Black Middle Class” are added. Also gone is “ Politics and Class in African American Communities” focused on “the diversity of political and economic affiliations among African Americans,” replaced with “Black Political Gains” exemplified by three figures: Barack Obama, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. Two other topics — “demographic diversity” and “ religion and faith” — are combined into one — demographic and religious diversity — which is then given two classes. The cumulative effect is far more Florida-GOP friendly, whether consciously intended or not.

While Haynie presented a coherent, if debatable account, the same can’t be said for the College Board. In a webinar, Trevor Backer, who leads the AP program, claimed, against all evidence, that “the course framework as published enables contemporary topics to be a more important focus than in the pilot, not a less important focus as has been reported.”

“So much of this suggests political motivation,” Kolluri said. “Maybe these political components were done separately from the conversations had by these professors, but they seem political nonetheless.”

The College Board’s attempt to placate Florida can’t be seen in a vacuum. It took place in the context of that lack of response. Now, unsurprisingly, DeSantis has threatened to kick the College Board out of Florida entirely — to get rid of all its AP courses as well reliance on the College Board’s SAT tests. This is precisely what’s to be expected in light of our history, as African American studies would warn us all. The fight to preserve it is inextricable from the fight to preserve our democracy.